Grabfood
I heard someone claim
A Grabfood delivery worker could make
Rm300 a day. Work like mad, pulun
For 3 days, then take a break
For 1 or 2, then continue.
One could earn 6k a month this way
Minus fuel and repairs on the bike
No degree required, 3 4 5 years of tertiary education
Imagine the money one makes
Without much investment
And loan
Insurance is provided
Perhaps even EPF
If it’s money one needs
One could work first
Enjoy life to the fullest
Earning and spending and saving
Meeting people on your own terms
Other riders and customers
Beautiful beautiful people
Such is life
Perhaps some riders have met moment-defining people
This way.
A hungry, eager sharing of souls
A metaphysical
Though this grab gig may not be forever
May not be a 10-year career
Has there been a Grab delivery worker
who has worked longer?
Has one stayed longer than 10 years in a job
Without changing?
Perhaps in our modern occupational stream
One should always think about leaving
Where will one be if one stays?
The fishes might have moved
Or the waters might have shoaled
With rising mud and silt
Growing debris in numbers
Others might not consider us
When relocating, each day a struggle for themselves
This inevitable, hard living
Do not think yourself above the gig
Life could be the shortest greatest
Gig of all
*pulun – colloquial Malay for working like mad
*EPF – Employee Provident Fund
Arthur Neong is a Kedahan Malaysian Chinese. Having taught for 11 years, he now delineates the maelstrom of thoughts and visuals, hoping to make sense of it all. His works have appeared in ANMLY, Five Minutes, Eksentrika, Particle, Men Matters, Everscribe, Porchlit Mag, SARE, Borderless, Eclectica, Tiffinbox Review, Tap Into Poetry, Malaysian Indie Fiction, ZiN Daily, Alien Buddha Press, Haiku Shack, Wise Owl, Black Glass Pages, and several anthologies: Chasing Sunsets (Raayan Media, 2024), Malaysian Places And Spaces (Maya Press, 2024), and Contours of Him (Hawakal Publishers, 2025), and are forthcoming in Ink & Ivy Lit and Lunae Literature Review.